MR. MILLS: Well, thank you very much for joining us for this closing press conference. Our participants will each make an opening statement and then we'll take... Show More + your questions. If I can ask everyone to please turn off your mobile devices or put them to vibrate, we would appreciate it. Chairman Belka. MR. BELKA: Thank you. As we are late, I am not going to be very descriptive about the meeting of the Development Committee. You know the agenda. The discussion was very rich, centering around the social safety nets, the private sector involvement in growth initiatives, as well we discussed modernization of the World Bank. However, one thing that is obvious, it took so long because all the delegates took the opportunity of this Development Committee meeting to express gratitude and adm Show Less -

MR. MILLS: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our World Bank Group press conference for the 2012 Spring Meetings. Joining me this morning is the President of the World Bank... Show More + Group, Robert Zoellick, who will have an opening statement and then take some of your questions. If I could please ask everyone when they ask a question to identify themselves and your organization; and once again, I am sure you have been asked, but if we could have our mobile devices switched off or to "vibrate." So, President Zoellick. MR. ZOELLICK: Thank you, Rich. Welcome, and thanks to all of you for coming. This marks my last Spring Meetings as the President of the World Bank Group, so I would like to begin with a few words of thanks to the Ministers who have supported us and worked with us; to our Executive Board, who have labored hard to help our Management team to modernize the important multilateral institution; to the excellent Senior Manageme Show Less -

Washington, April 16, 2012 — World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick today congratulated Dr. Jim Yong Kim for being chosen to become the 12th president of the development institution and offered... Show More + his support in ensuring a successful handover for July 1. “I am pleased to work with Jim Yong Kim during the transition. He is an impressive and accomplished individual. Jim has seen poverty and vulnerability first-hand, through his impressive work in developing countries. His innovations in health-care have helped to save numerous lives. As President at Dartmouth College, Jim has had to take tough managerial and financial decisions while running a large, multidisciplinary organization. His rigorous, science-based drive for results will be invaluable for the World Bank Group as it modernizes to better serve client countries in overcoming poverty.” Show Less -

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2012 - Dr. Jim Yong Kim today released a statement in response to his selection by the World Bank's Executive Directors as 12th President of the World Bank: “I am honored to... Show More + accept the Executive Directors’ decision to select me as the next President of the World Bank Group. I am delighted to succeed Robert Zoellick, who has served with excellence and distinction during the last five years, and I am grateful to the Bank’s member countries for the broad support I have received. I have spoken with Minister Okonjo-Iweala and Professor Ocampo. They have both made important contributions to economic development, and I look forward to drawing on their expertise in the years to come. It is befitting that I conclude my global listening tour in Peru. It was here in the shantytowns of Lima that I learned how injustice and indignity may conspire to destroy the lives and hopes of the poor. It was here that I saw how communities struggle to prosper bec Show Less -

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2012 - The Executive Directors met today to select a new President of the World Bank Group. The Board expressed its deep gratitude for Mr. Robert B. Zoellick’s outstanding leadership... Show More + and his dedication to reducing poverty in its member countries, the core mandate of the World Bank Group. The Executive Directors followed the new selection process agreed in 2011 which, for the first time in the Bank’s history, yielded multiple nominees. This process included an open nomination where any national of the Bank’s membership could be proposed by any Executive Director or Governor, publication of the names of the candidates, interviews of the candidates by the Executive Directors, and final selection of the President. The Executive Directors selected Dr. Jim Yong Kim as President for a five-year term beginning on July 1, 2012. The President is Chair of the Boards of Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the Internation Show Less -

Policy makers under pressure can get preoccupied with the fixation of the moment. For the eurozone, that idée fixe has been “the firewall”. How big is big enough? Who contributes and how?Now that the eurozone... Show More + finance ministers have exhausted themselves with a multilayered package of hundreds of billions of euros, the debate will go global at this week’s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The next preoccupation will be how many more hundreds of billions of euros should be pledged to the IMF. It will be Firewall II: the Sequel.I beg to differ. Not with firewalls exactly, but with the preoccupation.The survival of the eurozone now depends on Italy and Spain. They are the countries that are too big to fail – or to rescue. Extraordinary action by the European Central Bank has lowered the interest rates that Italy and Spain pay on their debt, but not solved their problems.In one sense, the much-badgered Germans are right. The fates of Italy and Spain depen Show Less -

Washington, DC, May 3, 2011 – Today the World Bank Board approved a US$43 million credit for the Papua New Guinea Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Project II (RMRP II). Building on the success of an... Show More + earlier project, which is set to close in December 2011, this new five-year initiative will continue to support the rehabilitation, upgrading and maintenance of high priority national roads and bridges in the country, and help connect people to vital public services such as healthcare and education.The project is expected to make a significant contribution to the Government of Papua New Guinea’s national road maintenance and rehabilitation program. Lack of reliable roads in the country has affected connectivity, disrupted people’s access to essential public services in many parts of the country and hindered economic growth, as transporting goods and people becomes impossible, unsafe, or exceedingly costly.The RMRP II will rehabilitate roads and bridges in several provinces, beginning wit Show Less -

Sharm el-Sheikh, January 18, 2011 – To strengthen and enhance collaboration in the areas of economic and social development in the Arab World, the League of Arab States (LAS) and the World Bank Group today... Show More + signed a memorandum of understanding at the Second Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit being held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.Amr Mousa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States said he welcomes the memorandum of understanding as it is related to the objectives that the League of Arab States is trying to achieve, namely. promoting economic and social development in the region and overcoming the obstacles facing economic integration among the countries of the region.Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mahmoud Mohieldin, Managing Director of the World Bank said that the institution will continue to exert every effort to assure its responsiveness to country’s development needs as well as address priorities specified by Arab countries that strengthen economic integration.He ad Show Less -

Media are cordially invited to attend the conference Trade and Employment Post-Crisis: Global Shocks, Structural Changes and Policy Responses on Monday, October 25, organized jointly by the World Bank... Show More + and the International Labour Office (ILO). Held in the lead up to the G20 Summit in Seoul, November 11-12, the conference will discuss the role of open markets in supporting growth and job creation.In the last G20 Summit in Toronto, leaders called on the OECD, the ILO, World Bank, and the WTO to report on the benefits of trade liberalization for employment and growth at the Seoul gathering. WHAT: Trade and Employment Post-Crisis Conference WHEN: Monday, October 25th, 2010 &nb Show Less -

Tokyo, October 19, 2010 -- The economic recovery in East Asia and the Pacific is robust, but attention must now turn to managing emerging risks which may pose challenges to macroeconomic stability, says... Show More + the World Bank in its latest East Asia and Pacific Economic Update released today. Titled Robust Recovery, Rising Risks, the Update notes that output has recovered to above pre-crisis levels throughout developing East Asia, and is expanding at near pre-crisis rates in some countries. Real GDP growth is likely to rise to 8.9 percent in the region in 2010 (6.7 percent excluding China), up from 7.3 percent in 2009 and in line with the average growth rate during 2000-2008. Private sector investment is once again driving growth, confidence is on the rise, and trade flows have returned to pre-crisis levels.Yet, greater confidence in the region's growth prospects and concerns about tepid economic expansion in advanced economies is creating the need for policy makers to p Show Less -

Hanoi, April 12, 2010 — The World Bank, on April 6, issued a Press Release regarding the firm debarred for fraud in World Bank-funded project. The World Bank wishes to provide further information,... Show More + with regards to this case, as follows:The debarment is solely in response to fraudulent behaviour of Glocoms. Glocoms won a contract financed under the project, in part, based on falsified qualifications in its proposal. In other words Glocoms misrepresented itself in its bid documents. This is the reason for the debarment of Glocoms. The debarment is not in response to any fraudulent behaviour on the part of any agency of the Government of Vietnam.The project is ongoing and on track to meet its development objectives. This case presents no serious impacts on the project's implementation. Show Less -

Hanoi, March 21st, 2010 – Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung affirmed the country’s support for a World Bank capital increase. The Deputy Prime Minister made the statement in a meeting with... Show More + Mr. James W. Adams, the World Bank’s Vice President for the East Asia and Pacific Region.Over the years, the Deputy Prime Minister said, the Bank has been a major source of support to Vietnam’s development. Its knowledge services and financing have helped Vietnam move from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, while at the same time reducing poverty. The result has been sustained and balanced growth. The Deputy Prime Minister added that the Bank’s financial support has been efficiently used and yielded results on the ground.In the medium and long term, responding to the impacts of climate change will be a key global priority. In this regard, the Deputy Prime Minister said he expects the Bank to play a greater role in coordinating international expertise and financing t Show Less -

Having now served as President of the World Bank Group for 100 days, I wanted to share my initial impressions and ideas for strategic directions.I greatly appreciate the encouragement and support I have... Show More + received from many quarters. I sense that people around the world – in developing and developed countries – recognize both the need for and potential of this unique creation. The World Bank Group is one of the great multilateral institutions established after World War II. Sixty years later, it must adapt to vastly different circumstances in a new era of globalization.The staff of the World Bank Group has helped me learn, shown me our vital work in the field, and offered fresh ideas as we set a course for the future. The Board is offering experienced guidance as we strive to turn good intentions and analysis into productive actions.The Face of the World Bank GroupYet the real face of the World Bank Group is not the one usually seen in Washington, or in the drawin Show Less -